Inexpensive (cheap?) shackles at Princess Auto

[tonydca]

FYI just got back from Princess Auto - They have 1/2" shackles with a 2 Ton WLL for $1.99 each. Made in China of course, but what isn't these days...

I have a couple on some loops of 1.5 Ton WLL nylon webbing. Small and light to keep in the van; worked great pulling an Infiniti QX56 back onto the road near the top of Cypress Mtn this past weekend.

With matched load limits, the webbing should be the first thing to break under load, keeping all the metal bits attached to their respective vehicles...

EDIT: Unlike these doofuses (doofi?) :

http://www.google.ca/#hl=en&biw=1151&bi ... e8e55e4f5f

[RichD]

What amazes me is the amount of available manpower and the lack of enough sense to get a shovel.

[FalcoColumbarius]

Eewwww..... cringe..... I guess they just don't make bumpers like they used to. Great learning experience, 'though!

I have those shackles hanging under the Miss Lil' Bitchi, like piercings, to go along with her fancy lace lingerie. They have been handy on more than one occasion.

Falco.

[Firesong]

I have to show this one... 'underpowered .. loss of traction'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faGiMltG ... re=related

[rezdiver]

FYI just got back from Princess Auto - They have 1/2" shackles with a 2 Ton WLL for $1.99 each. Made in China of course, but what isn't these days...

I have a couple on some loops of 1.5 Ton WLL nylon webbing. Small and light to keep in the van; worked great pulling an Infiniti QX56 back onto the road near the top of Cypress Mtn this past weekend.

With matched load limits, the webbing should be the first thing to break under load, keeping all the metal bits attached to their respective vehicles...

EDIT: Unlike these doofuses (doofi?) :

http://www.google.ca/#hl=en&biw=1151&bi ... e8e55e4f5f

not sure if the theory you are using there is a good one but you should be good for a "very" light load. a 2000 pound car stuck in the snow may take forces well over the rigging you have there. a non certified china shackle at 2t rating and depending on the strap quality at 1.5t, it all depends on the safety factor built into each piece, the shackle could still break before the strap.
you can pick up larger properly rated certified shackles with a name brand like crosby for a couple of bucks more. and princess auto has 10ton straps on sale for 15 dollars.

[thedjjack]

Start at 1:20 if you are in a hurry (edit Language warning)

[tonydca]

FYI just got back from Princess Auto - They have 1/2" shackles with a 2 Ton WLL for $1.99 each. Made in China of course, but what isn't these days...

I have a couple on some loops of 1.5 Ton WLL nylon webbing. Small and light to keep in the van; worked great pulling an Infiniti QX56 back onto the road near the top of Cypress Mtn this past weekend.

With matched load limits, the webbing should be the first thing to break under load, keeping all the metal bits attached to their respective vehicles...

EDIT: Unlike these doofuses (doofi?) :

http://www.google.ca/#hl=en&biw=1151&bi ... e8e55e4f5f

not sure if the theory you are using there is a good one but you should be good for a "very" light load. a 2000 pound car stuck in the snow may take forces well over the rigging you have there. a non certified china shackle at 2t rating and depending on the strap quality at 1.5t, it all depends on the safety factor built into each piece, the shackle could still break before the strap.
you can pick up larger properly rated certified shackles with a name brand like crosby for a couple of bucks more. and princess auto has 10ton straps on sale for 15 dollars.

I hear what you're saying; the whole topic is a pretty big can of worms.

My thoughts at the time were to try and pick the right tool for the job.

I have a rope for towing someone (not stuck) which is immensely strong - 12T WLL I think. In this case, I don't plan to put undue strain on the whole assembly, so I don't want the rope to fail under any circumstances (likely from dirt/wear/chafing/etc.)

But judging from videos like the one I linked to, trying to yank someone free is more likely to damage a part of your vehicle, so I wanted this (different) rigging to fail in a controlled manner before anything else.

So strap fails before shackle, and shackle fails (properly dead-weighted to the strap) before the bumper/tow point gets damaged. 'Cuz if the latter happens, you're really pooched.

Since I posted this earlier, I've seen some very well-designed recovery gear in use, and ultimately, I think a good quality kinetic recovery rope is the way to go if you don't want to mess around. But still - there should be an engineered failure point somewhere.

Perhaps it is the tires losing traction coupled with a maximum speed on the recovering vehicle when you yank it out.

Ask a dozen experts and I'm sure I'd get a dozen answers

[rezdiver]

glad you are aware of the limits.

the best way to think about it is tow straps/tow ropes are for towing, with a constant static tension with as little jerking as allowable. they also have very little stretch so any jerking or snatching motion will direct all the energy directly to the tow point and create a lot of stress at that point let alone the strap. they are great if you can pull someone out just by pulling on them without taking a run at it.

a kinetic strap/rope, snatch strap, allows to rope to stretch sometimes over 30% reducing the impact your recovery point will recieve. this allows you to take a bit of a run at it. once it stretches and the kinetic energy stored in the rope is released in its spring action yanking the stuck vehicle out. you want a good anchor point with this type of rope as when it breaks it snaps back like a bullet, and if your recovery point is broken off on the end of it now you have a a scary situation.
and you do not want to just go ahead and use maximum speed when using this method, you can start easy and get a feel for how stuck the other vehicle is and gradually take a greater run at it as needed. once again as has been mentioned a shovel and a bit of digging prior to starting to pull can go a long long way.

of course any of these ropes and straps will need a recovery point with enough strength to not snap off and proper rigging hardware depending on what you are recovering whether you are using a tow rope or a snatch rope..

tons of videos on youtube regarding proper and improper use of both types of straps.

the whole idea is not to have a weak point at all, you are correct that your tires breaking traction is the best weak link, but you also have to consider the vehicle being towed out, a honda civic stuck in the snow does not have the greatest recovery point and depending on the gear you use you can end up destroying the persons vehicle you are trying to help or having their recovery point come flying in through the back window and hit one of the occupants in your vehicle. also when using a snatch method by the time your tires break traction it could very well be too late.

[thedjjack]

I always open the hood when front winching to slow down things going through the windsheild

another classic

[rezdiver]

do you open the hood or just lift up the engine cover inside?

[nxski]

Start at 1:20 if you are in a hurry (edit Language warning)

That's American build quality combined with people too lazy to use a shovel.

[thedjjack]

do you open the hood or just lift up the engine cover inside?

engine cover inside then hide behind it!!! OK on my work trucks....

[delicioso!]

hi folks, so i heard in another forum that PA shackles are suspect. is there any truth to this? any reports on failed/cracked shackles on pulls? i get there are more costlier crosby's and titans and arb shackles (but not by much)...but i'm just thinking that metal is metal and they're all made in china. so i searched and funny enough, i end up here from google.

can anyone comment on the quality of PA shackles? or is this just anecdotal talk...?

cheers.